Home Office

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what funding has been provided to French authorities in total to combat illegal crossings of the English Channel.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The UK and France maintain a longstanding relationship on tackling illegal migration at the shared border. Since signing of the Sandhurst Treaty in 2018 the UK has provided almost €500 million in funding to support our joint work with France to tackle small boats crossings. Please see a detailed breakdown of this funding below. YEARINVESTMENT2014/15£14.7m2015/16£46m2016/17£17m2017/18£36m2018/19€50m2019/20€3.6m€2.5m2020/21€31.4m2021/22€62.7m2022/23€72.2m2023/24€141m2024/25 *€191m2025/26 *€209m UK-France cooperation to tackle small boats resulted in over 26,000 small boats crossings prevented in 2023, with overall small boats arrivals down by over a third compared to 2022.*committed funding as part of 2023 UK-France Summit multi-year deal.

Asylum: Rwanda

Lord Hacking: To ask His Majesty's Government what monies they have thus far paid to the government of Rwanda; what further monies they are currently contracted to pay to that government; and what further costs they estimate will arise from the deportation of migrants under the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Rwanda received an initial £120 million as part of the Economic and Transformation Fund, which has been used to expand Rwanda’s economic development and its capability of accommodating and welcoming new arrivals to benefit both migrants and host communities. In advance of flights, £20 million was paid to support initial set up costs for the relocation of individuals. Through the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF) we have provided a further £100 million to Rwanda this financial year (23/24) and a further anticipated £50 million that may be payable in 2024. Information on funding will continue to be released as part of the Home Office Accounts publication each summer. The Impact Assessment for the Illegal Migration Act can be found here: Impact Assessment (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Asylum: Deportation and Temporary Accommodation

Lord Hacking: To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants are currently in accommodation provided by the Government in the UK, and how many are currently eligible for deportation under the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: As of 30 September 2023, published statistics show that 119,010 asylum seekers are being accommodated. The relevant provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 have not yet been enacted.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence there is that the penalties imposed on illegal migrants deter future illegal crossings of the English Channel.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Through legislation, such as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the Illegal Migration Act 2023, we have introduced a range of measures which aim to deter those who seek to enter the UK illegally.We set out the evidence covering this in the published Impact Assessment for the Illegal Migration Act: (Impact Assessment (publishing.service.gov.uk)).

Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU): Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill for the operation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill ensures that Northern Ireland has the same immigration rules as the rest of the UK.

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on the operation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as given effect by Article 2 of the Protocol and the Windsor Framework.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government takes its legal obligations seriously, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill complies with those obligations. The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. This is explicit on the face of the Bill and will always be the case, reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.